Cracker Jacks
by xBeautifulxLittlexFoolx
Summary: Post-TWS one-shot in which Natasha and Bucky are staying in Steve's apartment. Just a cute little story about their daily lives. Hints of Bucky/Nat.


**Cute one-shot that takes place post-**_**The Winter Soldier**_**. Told from Natasha's point of view.**

"You sure you'll be okay while I go to store?" Steve asked.

I rolled my eyes. "He's your friend, not your child."

Steve glared at me. I smirked in response. Steve turned back to Bucky. "If you need anything, just ask Natasha."

"I will," Bucky promised.

"Okay," Steve said. He looked around for a minute, confused. "Where are my keys?"

"Table," I said. "As usual."

"Thanks, Nat," he said. "Okay. I'm really leaving now. Bucky, are you good?"

"Oh my god, Steve," I yelled. "Would you leave already?"

"I'm just making sure…"

"You're going to the grocery store," I reminded him. "You are going to be gone twenty minutes, tops. If Bucky needs someone to explain the latest internet meme to him in that time, I'm pretty sure I can handle it." Under my breath, I added, "And I'm pretty sure I'd be more qualified for that than you anyway."

"It's just that—"

"Leave."

"Okay," he said. "Okay, okay, I'm leaving. I'll see you guys later." Steve walked out, slamming the door as usual. The vase on the bookcase rattled.

"How is it that he still doesn't know his own strength?" I muttered, turning back to my laptop. I typed quickly, going through documents for Fury. Every so often I would look up to steal a glace at Bucky, who was playing with Steve's tablet. He was doing well, all things considered, and seemed to have a much better knack for modern technology than Steve did. We had all been in this apartment together for several weeks now, and I still didn't know him very well. He was shy around me, almost like he was afraid. I knew a lot of that stemmed from whatever had been done to him in his time as the Winter Soldier. As cute as Steve's worried parent act was, I sometimes wondered if it was actually making Bucky feel more helpless.

"Um, Natasha?" he said.

"What's up?"

"I want you to explain this one to mean."

I walked over to see the app in question. "Oh," I laughed. "Tinder."

"What's Tinder?"

"It's a dating app," I explained. "Steve's too shy to talk to girls in real life, so I suggested he give it a try."

"Oh," he said. "Okay." He paused. "Should I try it?"

I laughed. "I don't think you need to go that far just yet," I assured him. "But if you want to, I'll help you make an account."

"Do you have an account?" he asked.

"No," I said. "I don't have time for that."

I started to walk back to my laptop.

"Natasha?"

"Yeah?"

"Your hair looks really nice today."

I smiled. "Thanks."

"Also, I'm sorry I shot at you that one time."

"Don't worry about it," I said. "It's not like it's the first time someone's shot at me."

"I still feel bad," he said.

I sat back down next to him. "You weren't yourself," I reminded him. "I know that you didn't know what you were doing. You were just following orders. If it makes you feel any better, my own track record is far from stellar."

"Still," he said. "I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted."

"What's on your necklace?"

"Oh," I said. I touched the charm around my neck, suddenly self-conscious. "It's, uh, an arrow."

"Is it special?"

"Yeah," I said. "It was a gift from a friend."

Bucky's eyes narrowed. "A boyfriend?"

"No," I said. "Just someone who was very important to me. He helped me out once. We respect each other. A lot. We shared a lot of stuff, back in the day, and he gave this to me as a reminder of what we had."

Bucky smiled. "Sounds like a boyfriend to me."

"Remember when I said I didn't have time for Tinder?" I reminded him. "I don't have time for a boyfriend either."

"Shame," he said. "You're awfully pretty, doll."

Under normal circumstances, comments like that would infuriate me. But seeing Bucky's personality come through was too exciting. I wanted to know the man who had been Steve's best friend. From what Steve had said, Bucky had been a classic debonair 1940s bachelor, like something out of an old film.

"Shame," I said jokingly. "I was going for deadly."

"Oh, you're definitely that too," Bucky assured me.

The door to the apartment was thrown open with a bang. Steve burst in, groceries in hand. "Bucky!" he exclaimed. "Look! The store had Cracker Jacks! It'll be just like old times."

**Thanks for reading! Reviews always welcome! **


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